APD to focus on seat belts at night

Published
12:00 am CDT, Wednesday, July 16, 2014

ALTON — Beginning Friday, Alton police will continue focusing on the most deadly time of night for motor vehicle fatalities with an intensified enforcement effort against late-night, impaired drivers and safety belt law violators.

“We are continuing the late-night enforcement efforts we began over the Fourth of July holiday, to make certain impaired drivers are off the road and motorists are buckled up,” said Alton Police Traffic Sgt., Michael Gordon. “The majority of traffic fatalities and serious injury crashes we investigate involve alcohol use by one or more drivers, and the failure to buckle up by everyone involved. So if you are driving, stay sober, don’t drink and drive and make sure everyone in the car buckles up.”

The enforcement focus will be during midnight to 3 a.m. and run through July 26.

Alton police recommend designating a sober driver and not letting friends and family drive impaired as just two of several simple steps to avoid a tragic crash or an arrest for impaired driving. Other important tips include:

• Plan ahead. Designate a sober driver before going out and give that person your keys.

• If you are impaired, call a taxi, use mass transit or call a sober friend or family member to get you home safely.

• Promptly report impaired drivers you see on the roadways to law enforcement;

• Wear your safety belt. It is your best defense against an impaired driver.

The law enforcement crackdown is funded by federal traffic safety funds through IDOT’s Division of Traffic Safety. For more information, go to: www.drivesoberillinois.org.